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Netherlands Business Confidence July 2018

Netherlands: Business confidence drops in July on less optimistic views of future output

July 30, 2018

Sentiment in the manufacturing industry dropped for the second consecutive month at the outset of the third quarter. In July, business confidence dropped to 6.3 from 7.7 in June, which was driven by less upbeat views on order books and future output. Nevertheless, the index remained above the crucial zero-point mark that separates optimism from pessimism. The result was also markedly above the long-term average of 0.8 over the past 20 years.

In contrast to less optimism regarding order books and future output, firms held a rosier view on stocks of finished goods. Moreover, all sub-components of the sentiment index remained in optimistic territory and all subsectors of the manufacturing industry were optimistic, as has been the case for over a year. Companies in the wood and building materials industry remained the most positive in July.

Netherlands Fixed Investment Forecast

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists see fixed investment growing 5.5% in 2018, which is up 0.5 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2019, the panel expects fixed investment to expand 3.6%.

Author:Jan Lammersen, Economist

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